The present invention relates to powered and unpowered devices for transporting objects. More particularly, this invention relates to an apparatus which can be utilized in a powered or in an unpowered mode for transporting the carcass of a large game animal from a hunting area to another area by means of a sled assembly which is convertible to an electrically actuable track driven cart.
The sport of hunting large wild game is filled with the experiences of the great outdoors and the exhilaration of the hunt. The sport of hunting large wild game also requires a great amount of effort, perseverance and endurance on the part of the hunter. The hunter must expend great energy getting to the area in which he or she will stalk the game. Once the game is bagged, an even greater amount of energy is typically expended in the effort to extract the large dead animal from the hunting site. In the experience of this inventor, this activity requires sheer strength by the hunter and may be the most physically challenging portion of the hunt.
It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide a new, useful, and uncomplicated device for extracting a large game animal from a hunting site quickly, efficiently and with as little effort as possible by the hunter. It is a further object of this invention to provide such a device which requires only a minimal number of elements and which is easily usable in the field. It is yet another object of this invention to provide such a device which can be manually delivered to the hunting site in an unpowered, or xe2x80x9cpower off,xe2x80x9d mode which minimizes noise in the surrounding area, but which can then be activated to a powered, or xe2x80x9cpower on,xe2x80x9d mode to convert the device to an electrically actuated extraction mechanism.
The present invention has obtained these objects. It provides for a convertible wheeled sled which can be dragged or rolled silently into the woods by the hunter. Once the hunter has bagged his game, he converts the wheeled sled into a track-driven and battery-powered cart. The sled portion is at the bottommost part of the assembly on the way into the woods. In this xe2x80x9csleddingxe2x80x9d mode, the battery pack, the tracks and the frame are situated above the sled. In the xe2x80x9ccartingxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9ctrack-drivingxe2x80x9d mode, the sled is detached from the assembly and is remounted above the frame, tracks and battery pack. In this mode, the sled forms a platform upon which the game can be secured. In the carting mode, the hunter activates the track-driven cart to assist with extraction of the game. Activation of the track-driven cart is by means of a handle which extends to the front of the assembly much like a hand operated lift truck. The foregoing and other features of the device of the present invention will be further apparent from the detailed description which follows.